M II A II R II K
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Despite Toronto, Montreal gridlock, commuters reluctant to use transit
Aug. 24, 2011
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ters-reluctant-to-use-transit/article2140000/
A new study suggests the vast majority of commuters remain reluctant to use public transit, despite public campaigns encouraging people of its environmental and cost benefits. The Statistics Canada study found about 82 per cent of commuters traveled to work by car in 2010, while 12 per cent took public transit and six per cent walked or cycled. “Of the 10.6 million workers who commuted by car, about 9 million reported that they had never used public transit for their commute,†says the 2010 General Social Survey. “About 7.4 million of these people thought public transit would be somewhat or very inconvenient.†About 1.6 million car commuters, or 15 per cent, said they had tried using public transit to get to work; 53 per cent of them considered it inconvenient.
- “Commuters who used public transit took considerably longer to get to work than those who lived an equivalent distance from their place of work and went by car,†says the study. Nationally, users of public transit spent 44 minutes travelling to work, compared with 24 minutes for those who went by car. Commuting times are door-to-door, StatsCan notes. Times for public transit are generally longer because its use can involve walking to a transit stop and waiting for a bus, it says.
- In the six largest cities, the average commuting time was 44 minutes for public transit users and 27 minutes by car. The gap in average commuting time was slightly larger in mid-sized metropolitan areas — 46 minutes on public transit and 23 minutes by car. “The gap was not a result of distance travelled,†the agency says. “Among workers in (cities) with at least 250,000 residents who travelled less than 5 kilometres to work, car users had an average commute of 10 minutes, compared with 26 minutes for public transit users. The same held true for longer commutes.â€
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Aug. 24, 2011
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ters-reluctant-to-use-transit/article2140000/
A new study suggests the vast majority of commuters remain reluctant to use public transit, despite public campaigns encouraging people of its environmental and cost benefits. The Statistics Canada study found about 82 per cent of commuters traveled to work by car in 2010, while 12 per cent took public transit and six per cent walked or cycled. “Of the 10.6 million workers who commuted by car, about 9 million reported that they had never used public transit for their commute,†says the 2010 General Social Survey. “About 7.4 million of these people thought public transit would be somewhat or very inconvenient.†About 1.6 million car commuters, or 15 per cent, said they had tried using public transit to get to work; 53 per cent of them considered it inconvenient.
- “Commuters who used public transit took considerably longer to get to work than those who lived an equivalent distance from their place of work and went by car,†says the study. Nationally, users of public transit spent 44 minutes travelling to work, compared with 24 minutes for those who went by car. Commuting times are door-to-door, StatsCan notes. Times for public transit are generally longer because its use can involve walking to a transit stop and waiting for a bus, it says.
- In the six largest cities, the average commuting time was 44 minutes for public transit users and 27 minutes by car. The gap in average commuting time was slightly larger in mid-sized metropolitan areas — 46 minutes on public transit and 23 minutes by car. “The gap was not a result of distance travelled,†the agency says. “Among workers in (cities) with at least 250,000 residents who travelled less than 5 kilometres to work, car users had an average commute of 10 minutes, compared with 26 minutes for public transit users. The same held true for longer commutes.â€
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